Jebb Sinclair could have been forgiven for fearing the worst as he prepared to swap winning the Currie Cup with Western Province for fighting relegation with London Irish.

But the Canada international flanker insists he has returned from his six-month loan spell in South Africa to find spirits still high in the Exiles dressing room, despite the club being second from bottom in the Aviva Premiership.

He admitted: “I did not know really what to expect. There had been so many changes during the summer, but since I got here the mood has been really good actually."

Last Saturday he made his first appearance of the season for Irish, coming off the bench for the final 12 minutes of the club’s 15-9 defeat at fellow strugglers London Welsh in front of a crowd of less than 4,000.

It is a far cry from becoming the first Canadian-born player to win South Africa’s top domestic competition.

Barely a month ago Sinclair was helping Cape Town-based Western Province win the Currie Cup final, when he played the final quarter of their 25-18 win over Natal Sharks in front of more than 48,000 fans in Durban.

It ended an 11-year trophy drought for the club, who in their other identity, the Stormers, went down 26-19 to Sharks in the Super Rugby semi-finals.

Sinclair said: “For investors and sponsors Super Rugby is the bigger competition because the TV audience is much bigger.

“Funnily enough, though, the Currie Cup is what the fans hold most dear.

“It’s a competition they have been playing for since 1889 so it is super-important to them, especially all the old boys who love their rugby.”

Sinclair added that there is no real discernible difference between Super Rugby’s Stormers or Currie Cup competitors Western Province.

“The sides are exactly the same,” he said. “Everyone is contracted to both.

"The Super Rugby season is like having Heineken Cup games back-to-back-back early in the season, then the Currie Cup, which is like the Premiership, starts straight afterwards.”

Sinclair continued: “The last time Western Province won it was in 2001.

“We were not well seeded going into the semi-finals and no one expected us to be there.

"It was nice being underdogs for two games and getting a win on the road in Durban against a Sharks side that was pretty much like the Springboks A side was unbelievable.”

Sinclair switched to the second row last month when he was representing Canada in the final two internationals of their autumn series in Wales – a 35-3 win over Russia and a 32-19 defeat by New Zealand Maoris.

But he does not see himself ever playing as a lock for London Irish.

He added: “I only play for Canada there because we do not have any second rows.”

Sinclair no longer sports the spectacular fiery red long beard that distinguished him before he signed for Irish in the summer of 2011.

He said: “I grew it for the World Cup. But the day I got home I shaved it off. I’ve had a few moustaches since then, but that was the last beard.”

However, if Canada were to qualify for the 2015 World Cup, he revealed: “We might see it again then. You never know.”

His priority now, though, is to kick-start a London Irish career that never really got going due to him suffering an injury within a month of arriving at the club.

He said: “From November to April I only played four games and only two of those were starts, so I had a lot of rugby left in me.”

Sinclair believes he has returned to England a better player for the experience, adding: cautiously: “It’s kind of hard to put in perspective, but I think my reading of a game is better.

“Then again the English game is slightly different so we will see how it translates.”

Irish will be looking to bounce back from three consecutive defeats when they take on Gloucester in an Amlin Cup Pool 1 game at Madejski Stadium tomorrow.

And Sinclair said: “My main target now is getting the nose turned north on the boat again.

"We are doing well in the Amlin Cup and that is on our thought process for the next two weeks.

"Then it’s a matter of clawing away with wins in the Premiership.

“It is very tight in the middle of the table. A couple of wins and you could be sitting high up before you know it.”